Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

Discrimination, it has been part of human nature for a long time, especially relevant subject in literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character of Scout Finch was exposed to different types of discrimination as she grows up. Discrimination affected the lives of characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird because of society’s prejudicial views of race, gender, and class.

Furthermore, defending Tom Robinson shows how being prejudice can hurt someone. The jury is all Caucasian men who do not agree with Atticus’s decision in defending an African American. Even though the actual truth about the case came out, the jury found Tom Robinson guilty and sent him to prison based on prejudice.

Prejudice and discrimination is looked down upon, yet people still continue to be judgmental and have preconceived assumptions about others. It is a common thing that still happens in today’s society. To be particular, racial discrimination is one example of prejudice and is based solely on the color of one’s skin. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is a caring individual who tries his hardest to treat everyone he meets with appreciation and respect. However, he is African American, which influences him and the other characters' lives in different ways. All he wants to do is help out another character, Mayella, which inevitably costs him his life in the end. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the character of Tom Robinson to illustrate the fact that innocent people are sometimes victimized to a racist society.

Racial prejudice existed in the 1930’s and still exists today. Due to small minded, arrogant people it has come to affect millions of innocent people like a fictional character named Tom Robinson. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, racial tensions run high in Maycomb county when Atticus Finch decides to defend a black man whose name is Tom Robinson. Throughout the story Lee wants to show how racial prejudice affects judgement, facts, and stereotypes.

Defeating racism, tribalism, intolerance, and all forms of discrimination will liberate us all- victim and perpetrator alike." -Ban Ki-moon. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many characters who are victims of all kinds of discrimination. The novel took place in the 1930's where this was a major part of towns across the country.

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, an unknown killer lies within the citizens of Maycomb. Many people would claim that the prison guards with the guns killed Tom Robinson, while the true killer manifests in the form of prejudice. Though the discrimination seems visible, many people still choose to overlook it. Prejudice did not only killed Tom, but contributes to a larger problem in their society. Tom Robinson is an African American man from Maycomb, Alabama, wrongfully accused of sexual assaulting a white women named by the name of Mayella.

“I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside.” (Lee 304) Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, covers many points throughout the book. Jem and Scout Finch see first hand everything that goes on in Macomb county. In the beginning they think of Boo Radley as the monster of the town because he stays shut inside the Radley house all day. However, throughout the book they witness many unjust events, like the Tom Robinson trial. Jem and Scout perceive how corrupt discrimination is, and how often it occurs in their town. Then, at the end they realize that Boo is not the monster, but the discrimination is. Boo Radley stays shut inside all day to escape the

Discrimination has various forms that can be used against someone, such as a person's class, race, gender, or age. Discrimination has been used by people who feel they are better than others and who like to put others down. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, racism, sexism, and classism shape how Scout sees Maycomb by the end of the novel. Racism is the belief that a certain race is superior to any other race, and it is the most used form of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is used multiple times throughout the novel and it is the form that Scout sees the most.

The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” By Harper Lee, takes place during the Civil Rights Movement. Alabama has many colored and mixed skin toned people during this time period. All through the progress of the Civil Rights these people are still treated differently. In Maycomb there is a big segregation between skin color and the lower and higher class of jobs. Women are also treated as lower class people but, not as much as colored people. To Kill a Mockingbird, racism, classism, and sexism are a big factor and major key in the town of Maycomb.

Whether it is through racial, ethnic, religion, or gender, discrimination is displayed countless times throughout the book. In To Kill a Mockingbird the life of Tom Robinson is a classic case of discrimination

Throughout the book, Maycomb came with deep and strong prejudice towards colored people, which was also an undeniable fact in the rest of southern states. The American southern states in 1930s were one of the areas where discrimination over African Americans was prevalent. Since the Civil War, the legal status of black people had been rising in economic and politic, but mostly in a transformation from slaves to “second-class” citizens. There were bans on interracial marriage between whites and blacks, and other legal restraints that imposed openly discrimination on colored people. There were numerous plots in the story that described verbal and physical assaults to blacks, by the white community and even by the colored people themselves. For example, when Jem, the older brother of Scout, the leading character, talked about a scary story that frightened Scout, she told Dill, Jem and Scout ‘s best friend, “Don’t believe a word of him, Dill”.

Firstly, characters in the black community are constantly put down and criticised by others. Calpurnia is a housekeeper who is loved and adored by Jem and Scout but is racially discriminated and judged by Aunt Alexandra. When Aunt Alexandra is waiting for Scout, Jem and Cal to return home she immediately greet them by saying “‘Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia’ was the first thing Aunt Alexandra said” (Lee 127). Aunt Alexandra judges Calpurnia as a slave because of her skin colour. When discriminating against Calpurnia, it gives the sense that it is okay to do so to Scout and jem and continue the the Maycomb ‘disease’ of discrimination and racism. The judgments are spreading throughout Maycomb and is ending hope for Maycomb to change.

Discrimination in the school environment was a controversial issue in the 1960’s. Over this specific time period, the view of Black citizens in school was extremely different compared to that of the White citizens. The school institution, which being founded for an educational purpose, had prime examples of how there was a separation between the schools of Black’s and White’s. The differing views between Blacks and Whites in schools was a reoccurring theme through the 1960s and in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there are apparent signs of White school systems still having a more segregated view on discrimination.

The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, various forms of discrimination is shown, one of them is racism. The novel is written by a six year old girl by the name of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch. The setting is in Maycomb, Alabama and it takes place during the Great Depression, (early 1930s). During this time, poverty and unemployment were widespread in the United States, and was was racism(one race believing they are superior) . In this novel, Scout and her family are harassed by friends and members in the community just because their white father, Atticus Finch is defending a black man in court, Tom Robinson.

Throughout history, discrimination has made a colossal impact on society and affected people’s behavior. Taking place in a small Alabama county during the 1930’s, Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird predominantly describes how discrimination and hatred was a predicament in society told by a young girl named Scout’s point of view. During the story, she learns about the negative effects on black people with discrimination and racism going on as she is introduced to the adult world.